Connected World Staff

The analysts are forecasting a big year for NFC (near-field communication) in 2014, but I say simply look around. This trend is evident in the fact that NFC is everywhere we go. Case in point: New Year’s Eve.

I’ve spent a fair amount of time as of late blogging about the importance of making wearables “worth it” for consumers. The idea of these items being both fashionable and functional, in my opinion, will be the only way this market continues its momentum.

In addition to snow flurries across the country, this is also the time of year we are privy to a flurry of predictions from the analysts about what is to come in the year ahead. Not surprising, a number of reports have crossed my desk recently predicting 2014 will be the year of M2M and IoT (Internet of Things).

Silver Spring Networks announced something rather intriguing today: A network-as‐a-service offering, which will allow cities to deploy new smart-city services to citizens in a rapid, and perhaps cost efficient manner. So in essence it becomes a SaaS (software-as-as-service) type of offering, but rather than office applications we are instead talking about solutions that help with environmental, health and safety, traffic, and even transportation challenges for cities.

Who knew Under Armour would be a company to watch in the world of M2M and IoT (Internet of Things)? Actually, anyone watching the market closely; or anyone who knows a thing or two about CEO Kevin Plank, for that matter.

The name Mark Cuban made me pay attention to the company Validic; but its CEO and cofounder Ryan Beckland kept my attention. When I saw the news that an investment group headed by the billionaire owner of the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks recently poured money in a mobile health company I had to find out more.

I came across a great story this week that puts this whole “wearable” discussion into perspective. U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer is calling for the DOJ (Dept. of Justice) to create and fund a program to provide voluntary GPS tracking devices for children who have Autism or other developmental disorders.

Who knew the coming rise of the machines would ultimately have the greatest impact on us humans? Two significant pieces of news emerged this week that address a necessary talent pool of workers to bring the coming Internet of Things to life.

I am constantly covering stories about connected-energy programs. It is encouraging to hear these stories, but while smart meters and other energy initiatives are being rolled out across the country, consumer involvement is still relatively low.

Let’s not debate the fact that the M2M value chain is complex; because it is. That being said, this realization shouldn’t be the basis of the argument for why one-stop-shops—or AEP (application enablement platforms) as they are called—are the ideal option for corporate adopters.